Credit Karma scores $85M funding led by Google Capital

Credit Karma has some pretty good, er, karma when it comes to funding.

The San Francisco technology company, which offers consumers free financial education and free access to their credit scores, today said it received $85 million in financing, bringing its total raised to $118.5 million.

The company said the big-bucks boost will go toward creating new, free services “to help consumers better understand and manage their finances and to make finding and applying for new financial services products intelligent and seamless.” It will also add new employees to accelerate that process.

Google Capital led the latest round with Tiger Global and existing funders Ribbit Capital and Susquehanna Growth Equity also aboard. Google Inc. only disclosed the existence of its new investment arm last month. Google Capital has also invested $50 million in Auction.com, an online real estate marketplace, and $40 million in Renaissance Learning, which makes education software. It’s also invested in Lending Club and Survey Monkey.

The company notched triple-digit percentage growth in site membership, revenue and headcount this past year. Some 20 million U.S. consumers have used it to check out their credit scores.

“Google Capital’s support – along with Tiger Global and our existing partners – is a public endorsement of how we’re helping consumers navigate the credit space,” said Ken Lin, co-founder and CEO of Credit Karma, in a statement. “At the core of our company vision is the desire to change how people interact with their finances, making it easier and more transparent.”

Google Capital Partner David Lawee will join Credit Karma’s Board of Directors.“Consumers want a trusted, secure service to provide personalized financial information that is easy to understand,” he said in a statement. “Credit Karma delivers on these extremely high expectations at no cost to consumers. They have established a trusted brand that brings an unprecedented level of transparency to the market.”Follow @csaid